Staff Blogs

Perry Ellis chooses KU

4:35 p.m. update

That's going to wrap up the live coverage of the event here. Be sure to check back to KUsports.com for full press conference video after we get it all uploaded this evening. Also be sure to check out Gary's full story later on KUsports.com or in Thursday's Journal-World.

4:13 p.m. update: By Gary Bedore

Wichita Heights senior forward Perry Ellis orally committed to Kansas University at 2:45 p.m. Wednesday at the Wichita Heights High School gymnasium. Ellis, who was seated at a table next to his dad, Will, and mom, Fonda, chose KU over Kansas State, Wichita State and Kentucky.

"I knew for so long. I've been there so many times. I felt so comfortable there," Ellis said. "It made me realize that was the school for me. All the schools were so great, but I was so comfortable there."

Ellis said he was looking forward to working with KU big-man coach Danny Manning, who he's developed a relationship with.

He cited the improvement of the Morris twins as an example of Manning's coaching ability.

Ellis — the 24th-ranked player in the class of 2012, according to Rivals.com — called the coaches of the four schools immediately before the news conference.

Here are two photos from Gary Bedore. Couldn't get too close to him during the presser, or he'd have blocked all the cameras.

Wichita Heights basketball player Perry Ellis stands after announcing his decision to attend Kansas on Wednesday, Sept. 21, in Wichita.
by Gary Bedore

Perry Ellis, center, sits with his father, Will, and mother, Fonda, during his press conference on Wednesday at Wichita Heights High School. Ellis selected Kansas over Kansas State, Wichita State and Kentucky.
by Gary Bedore

There were no hats for the Ellis decision. Actually, I thought he and his family handled it well. Very little self-promotion. Came in, announced, answered questions and didn't make this a circus.

2:58 p.m. update

Press conference has ended. Ellis just walked out of the gym with his parents.

2:57 p.m. update

Ellis: "Even going up there (to KU), you could see the tradition before the games. ... It's one of the top tradition programs, I would say. I'm proud to be a part of it."

2:55 p.m. update

"It's one of the happiest days (of my life)," Ellis said.

2:53 p.m. update

Ellis said he was looking forward to working with Danny Manning. He mentioned the Morris twins as a sign of how well Manning develops players.

Ellis also said KU coach Bill Self was the first one to come to his games freshman year. "That really impressed me and humbled me," Ellis said.

2:50 p.m. update

"All these schools are real close to me. They've been there for three or four years now. It was a tough decision."

2:48 p.m. update

Ellis hugged both his parents after making the decision.

"I just felt so comfortable there (at KU)," he said.

2:47 p.m. update

After thanking God, his parents and Wichita Heights, his coach and his trainer and all the schools that recruited him, Perry Ellis picked Kansas University.

2:45 p.m. update

He's coming out right now.

2:40 p.m. update

Just been told this announcement shouldn't be delayed and will take place at 2:40 p.m.

Here's a photo of all the mics to show you the media presence here.

Senior Perry Ellis is announcing his college decision at Wichita Heights High School on Wednesday.
by Jesse Newell

2:35 p.m. update

Hey guys. We're here live at Wichita Heights High School, waiting the announcement for Perry Ellis, who will choose his college destination at 2:45 p.m. His final four schools are Kansas, Kansas State, Wichita State and Kentucky.

We arrived here about a half-hour early, and already, about 10 cameras were set up. This is announcement is drawing quite a media crowd, especially because the 24th-ranked player in the class of 2012 has three local schools left on his list.

"Welcome to Kansas... Would you like to meet an NBA Finals MVP first? Or would you like to see an NBA championship ring first? Or perhaps an NCAA championship ring? Or an NCAA championship trophy? Or maybe a Final 4 MVP trophy? Or maybe the original rules of basketball? Or would you like to start by shooting a few baskets on Wilt Chamberlain court? You do know who Wilt is don't you, young man? You don't? Oh well then, come with me... Right over here we can put on earphones & announce a play that Wilt's team ran right here @ Kansas. We get to pretend to be announcers for the only player in the history of the NBA to score a hundred points in one game!!!! What's that? You're not impressed by any of this stuff because your mom speculates you have A.D.D.? Walk with me young man. You see that yellow cab over there? Take it to Lexington, Kentucky. There's a coach there that specializes in getting players like you into a pro league called the D league after just one semester of real coursework! The second semester you don't even have to go to class! Thanks for visiting!"

20 Hours in one week! They play one game a week, and I doubt they practice much the day before the game or the day after the game. So... if they didn't take Monday off every week, they would have 4 hours EVERY DAY! Even more per day if you have light workouts the day before and after a game.

Glad to educate you! Thanks for wasting my time and everbody else's who took their time reading a post that came from the biological equivalent of a garbage dump.

As i've said before, this is a typical practice schedule throughout college ball, Sunday's are light workouts to stay loose and workout the soreness, Mondays are off days to recover and then you hit it hard on Tuesday... you cannot run full pads and practice 6 days a week, they'll be overtrained and then risk injuries, etc.
Mangino did this same schedule, i had several friends who played for him

Is is possible that Cal and Kentucky were allowed into the process at the last minute for the sole purpose of giving them a black eye in recruting? Given the character of the Ellis family this seems unlikely -- but it would be a very shrewd (and delightful) tactic.

"It's one of the happiest days (of my life)," Ellis said. No kidding it's one of the happiest day of your life, you picked one of the best basketball schools in history. Great choice! Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

For Kentucky, this is a big recruiting blow. The Wildcats had been closely linked with Ellis during his junior season, but his recruitment tailed off in the early part of 2011, leading to speculation that Kentucky had stopped recruiting the talented big man. However, Calipari made a concerted effort to spend as much time as possible watching Ellis during the summer evaluation period. As the summer wore on, it became clear that Calipari thought of Ellis as his top target at the power forward position.

This is for all the people who said Self can't recruit.....they will say 'well he was an instate guy,' well sometimes it's harder to get those guys cuz they've had it shovEd down their throat for so long....great get. He is the type of guy we want in our program....now we just got to get him to stay longer than one year....case and point should be Thomas Robinson. Look how much you can improve from your first to second year....

Well this glass was half full (at least) not half empty {ref my post earlier in the week)}. Congrats to the young man for choosing the school, the coaches and the collegiate environment that will not only be best for him today but for the rest of his life. Enjoy the game this weekend to really begin to realize what it will mean as you go through life after college to be a Jayhawk. If he comes to the game on Sat I hope all in the area that are in attendance give him his first real Jayhawk welcome when he is recognized in the stands.

wow, what a pick me up! a tough week of football, and Big 12 chaos....this is awesome!

Welcome Mr. Ellis! and kudos to Bill Self and staff....he needed this for sure, to kick off the class this year...(i know Zach has already committed). it's going to be a dandy class......again, welcome Perry and Rock Chalk!

Whoever owns the trademark/copyright on a logo can license it out to any school that pays the license fee. KState's "Power Cat" logo is one of the most popular logo choices for high schools because Bill Snyder supposedly only charges $1/year for other schools to use that logo. Unfortunately, my high school is one of those schools that uses the "Power Cat" logo. Other NFL/NCAA logos that I know get used a lot are the Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota T'Wolves, Penn St., Missouri, and Clemson. I'm also guessing a lot of college logos are very popular within their region as well.

I knew this was going to be good news the second i didn't see any hats on the table lol

seriosly though, i have been hard on self's recruiting this past year because i beleive he deserved it.

I am not above giving praise were praise is do however, Geting a commit from the top priority target early has been something we've been waiting for for years now and it finally just happened... Kudos to Self.

Fried Crow
Can either fry on the bone or filet the meat. To tenderize the meat, cook in a pressure cooker for 15 minutes at 10 pounds, or boil in water with a tablespoon of salt until tender when stuck with a fork. Remove the breast or filets from the pressure cooker or boiling pot. Flour and shallow fry in a pan until golden brown. The crow filets are great fun to pass off to your friends as chicken gizzards.

When KU and KY play this season, I think our coaching staff should wear matching Perry Ellis branded shirts, ties or something to rag on UK nation. In fact, KUStore.com needs to work on a new line featuring KU and Perry Ellis branded/licensed merchandise.

Here comes another wave. One slow year and the Kansas train builds up some momentum. I like the kids we have an eye on. If Tarc commits, I think we have the blocks in place to leave the BigBang conference with a little something in the hardwood department.

I know his ranking isn't great but I love the Peters kid! If you ever watched Illinois when HCBS was there, you know what he can do with a big, strong, athletic guy! Every guy on the floor isn't expected to score 20 points per. This combination is the beginning of very nice frontcourt!!! Just throw Tarc in there now!

This is awesome news. I felt like a 100-pound rock just came off my shoulder when I heard about Perry's decision. I was a little worried that Kentucky made a big push toward the end. Now, I need to go see Perry play at Intrust Arena, coming up in December. It will be exciting to know that I will be watching a Jayhawk-to-be in action. The Intrust Arena game in Wichita, KS, is tentatively scheduled for Friday, December 9th. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Great start to the recruiting class (sorry, I'm having trouble getting hyped for Zach Peters). Now go out and get Kaleb Tarczewski & Nino Jackson and we'll be looking really good. Muhammed would be the crown jewel of the recruiting class, but trying to temper my expectations a bit. Is there a reason we're not in on that Cauley kid from Olathe? He'd be good insurance in case we don't land Kaleb.

Hey #!!#! Why the need to disrespect any of our new players. He chose to come to KU when being recruited by other places so show a little class and give him respect that any of our new players deserve. Zach is going to be a good 4 year player with size and strenth. Give the kid a chance before you downplay him.

Jeez...I say I'm not hyped and suddenly I'm disrespecting him? And classless? Get a grip.

Bottom line, different players warrant different levels of excitement based on expectations. It's why there will be 3-5 stories on Perry Ellis making his decision, why Josh Selby generated such a buzz, where as Kevin Young might get a story or blurb on him once/month. For me personally, I'm way more hyped for Ellis than Peters. It's really not a hard concept to grasp, and it doesn't mean that anyone is disrespecting someone who is less hyped and getting less coverage.

I think emulating Danny Manning might be the best model for new recruits, where they get a 4-year degree, then they really don't have to rely on B-ball, they can have fun playing college B-ball and if they want to do the NBA their stock will have risen through NCAA exposure. These players that bolt early just seem uncollegiate. The Danny Manning method.

Wow! What an interesting display of blogs about this 18ish year old kid kid. A high school kid lined up behind a bunch of microphones like some tea party candidate. Yet another member of KU's non-graduate NBA class. Hope this kid enjoys the NBA next season.

Nah, an angry taxpayer who lives right here in little ole larryville watching the local institution of education throw tax money intended for education on a kid who throws and bounces a ball and will certainly only be here for enough time to get an agent in the NBA.